A LANDMARK OF DISTINCTION - CHASE COUNTY COURTHOUSE
Posted by: 
WonkMan
N 38° 22.238 W 096° 32.501
14S E 714758 N 4249799
An honor given to Cottonwood Falls for being the county seat of Chase county since both the town and county were established in 1859.
Waymark Code: WM7ZFY
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 12/28/2009
Views: 9
The marker sets on the northeast corner of the courthouse square containing the historical Chase County Courthouse in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. For those of you who visit this spot you might wish to check out virtual cache GC8F25.
Marker Name: A LANDMARK OF DISTINCTION
Marker Type: Other (Please identify in marker text)
Marker text:
Cottonwood Falls has been the Chase county seat since both town and county were established in 1859. The first log cabin courthouse was replaced in 1875 by this stately building of native limestone and walnut, which today is the oldest Kansas courthouse still in use. It was designed in French Renaissance style by John G. Haskell, who was also the first architect of the statehouse in Topeka.
Prospects for Cottonwood Falls received an early setback when it was by passed by the Santa Fe railroad in 1871. The depot, located two miles north, was first called Cottonwood but in 1881 it and the community which grew up around it were renamed Strong City.
This "twin city" situation led to one of the state's first interurban systems. Horsecar service between the two towns begun in 1887 and this courthouse square was the southern terminus of the two-mile railroad. In 1918 the company converted to a gasoline-powered motor car, but the track that served well for horsecars could not handle the heavier and faster equipment. Improved technology in this instance only created difficulty, and in 1919 the interurban ceased operations.
Marker Location: Chase
Official Marker Number: 94
Name of agency setting marker: Kansas State Historical Society
Year Marker Placed: Not listed
Marker Web Address: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Must log an original UNPHOTOSHOPPED picture of you or your GPSr at the marker. Please tell some background of what you learned or how you found the marker.